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</noscript></div><div class="main"><div id="ency_summary"><p>A doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) is a physician licensed to practice medicine, perform surgery, and prescribe medicine.</p></div><section><div class="section"><div class="section-header"><div class="section-title"><h2>Information</h2></div><div class="section-button"><button type="submit" aria-controls="section-1" role="button" title="Expand/Collapse section"><span class="icon icon-section-action">
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</div></div><div class="section-body" id="section-1"><p>Like all allopathic physicians (or MDs), osteopathic physicians complete 4 years of medical school and can choose to practice in any specialty of medicine. However, osteopathic physicians receive an additional 300 to 500 hours in the study of hands-on manual medicine and the body's musculoskeletal system, called osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT).</p><p>Osteopathic physicians hold to the principle that a patient's history of illness and physical trauma are written into the body's structure. The osteopathic physician's highly developed sense of touch allows the physician to feel (palpate) the patient's living anatomy (the flow of fluids, motion and texture of tissues, and structural makeup).</p><p>Like MDs, osteopathic physicians are licensed at the state level. Osteopathic physicians who wish to specialize may become board certified (in the same manner as MDs) by completing a 2- to 6-year residency within the specialty area, often side-by-side with MDs, and passing the same board certification exams as MDs.</p><p>DOs practice in all specialties of medicine, ranging from emergency medicine and cardiovascular surgery to psychiatry and geriatrics. Osteopathic doctors use the same medical and surgical treatments that are used by other medical doctors, but may also incorporate a holistic approach taught during their medical training and use OMT if indicated.</p></div></div></section><section><div class="section"><div class="section-header"><div class="section-title"><h2>Alternative Names</h2></div><div class="section-button"><button type="submit" aria-controls="section-Alt" role="button" title="Expand/Collapse section"><span class="icon icon-section-action">
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</div></div><div class="section-body" id="section-Alt"><p>Osteopathic physician</p></div></div></section><section><div class="section sec-mb"><div class="section-header"><div class="section-title"><h2>Images</h2></div><div class="section-button"><button type="submit" aria-controls="section-tnails" role="button" title="Expand/Collapse section"><span class="icon icon-section-action">
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<li><img src="//medlineplus.gov/ency/images/ency/tnails/9713t.jpg" alt="Osteopathic medicine" title="Osteopathic medicine" class="side-img"/><a href="../imagepages/9713.htm">Osteopathic medicine</a></li>
</ul></div></div></section><section><div class="section"><div class="section-header"><div class="section-title"><h2>References</h2></div><div class="section-button"><button type="submit" aria-controls="section-Ref" role="button" title="Expand/Collapse section"><span class="icon icon-section-action">
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</div></div><div class="section-body" id="section-Ref"><p>American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine website. What is osteopathic medicine? <a href="https://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/about-osteopathic-medicine" target="_blank">www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/about-osteopathic-medicine</a>. Accessed December 22, 2022.</p><p>Gevitz N. The "doctor of osteopathy": expanding the scope of practice. <em>J Am Osteopath Assoc</em>. 2014;114(3):200-212. PMID: 24567273 <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24567273/" target="_blank">pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24567273/</a>.</p><p>Stark J. A degree of difference: the origins of osteopathy and the first use of the "DO" designation. <em>J Am Osteopath Assoc</em>. 2014;114(8):615-617. PMID: 25082967 <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25082967/" target="_blank">pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25082967/</a>.</p><p>Thomson OP, Petty NJ, Moore AP. A qualitative grounded theory study of the conceptions of clinical practice in osteopathy - a continuum from technical rationality to professional artistry. <em>Man Ther</em>. 2014;19(1):37-43. PMID: 23911356 <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23911356/" target="_blank">pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23911356/</a>.</p></div></div></section>
<section><div class="section"><div class="section-header"><div class="section-title"><h2>Review Date 10/10/2022</h2></div><div class="section-button"><button type="submit" aria-controls="section-version" role="button" title="Expand/Collapse section"><span class="icon icon-section-action">
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<div id="section-version" class="section-body"><p>Updated by: Allen J. Blaivas, DO, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, VA New Jersey Health Care System, Clinical Assistant Professor, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, East Orange, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.</p>
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